Sidequests
by 18 More
Summary: When Chrom wants to get something done, like rescue his sister from the Plegians, he'll most likely do just that. Too Robin has other plans for them and what they would be doing instead... NOW A MULTI-CHAPTERED FIC
1. Exalt's Capture

**Sidequests**

The Exalt had been captured, and will be executed publicly in Plegia.

This was the news that a distraught Basilio had given the two siblings of Exalted blood.

Of course, Chrom and Lissa had both reacted strongly to this. Lissa had fainted into Robin's arms, and Chrom was so distressed that he immediately tried to rally the Shepherds to march straight into Plegia. It took a lot of convincing from Flavia, Basilio, and Robin to stop him from stupidly charging into Plegia to rescue his sister, ending with Robin's promise to Chrom that he would devise a plan to save the Exalt. He also promised that they would start to march the next day, to appease Chrom.

The next day, as Chrom was suiting up for the march into Plegia in the room given to him by the khans, Robin sauntered into the room. The tactician was fully-dressed and prepared to march as well.

"Hey, Chrom. You ready yet?" Robin asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Now let's march to Plegia!" Chrom's face showed great determination.

"Er...yeah... About that..." The tactician sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Yes, Robin?"

"Well, I did promise that we would march today, but I didn't say _where_ we would be marching."

"...Wait, does that mean we're not going to Plegia?" The lord's determined face was replaced by one of confusion.

"Yeah," Robin simply replied.

"Well, why in the hells aren't we going there, Robin?! My sister is going to be _executed_!" Chrom's face changed again, from one of confusion to one full of rage and anger. "Is this an excuse to not plan for rescuing Emm, Robin?"

"No, gods no, Chrom! I _am_ planning!" Robin uneasily took a step away from the angry lord. He had seen what Chrom would do to someone who was on his bad side, and Robin did _not_ want to be on Chrom's bad side. "It's just that...one of the Southeastern Ylissean villages has been constantly harassed by a large bandit group and has asked for the Shepherds to help rid them of these bandits."

"Well, for Naga's sake, why don't you just send a squadron of soldiers or pegasus knights to that village?!" Robin flinched from Chrom's outburst. The lord was practically yelling at this point.

"Y-Ylisse doesn't have enough soldiers to handle a bandit group of that size; the village reports that there are over _one hundred_ _skilled brigands_. And most of the Ylissean pegasus knights were killed defending the border from the Plegians."

"Then why not ask Flavia for soldiers, then? The Feroxi would be glad to wipe out those bandits, if not excited to!"

"She needs all the Feroxi soldiers she has, Chrom. They'll be dealing with the main Plegian forces."

But _my sister _is going to die!" Chrom was practically seething with rage now.

"That can wait, Chrom." Robin readied his arm to try to block a punch from Chrom for his blunt response, but seeing as no punch came towards him, Robin relaxed his arm and continued. "I have a feeling that Gangrel won't kill Emmeryn without us being there to watch, so that gives us time to liberate that village _and _plan for Emmeryn's rescue. So, all-in-all, it will work out for us." The tactician had an almost pleading look in his eyes at this point. He hoped that Chrom would buy his reasoning.

And it worked. The rage dissipated from Chrom's face. He then sighed and wiped his face. "Alright then, Robin. I trust you," he smiled. "So how far is this village?"

"Well..." The tactician pulled out a small notepad from inside his coat and flipped it open. "From here, it would take us about...two weeks to reach the village."

"What?!" Anger quickly came back to Chrom's face.

"Well, it WILL take quite a few days to sail to the village," Robin pointed out.

Chrom let out another massive sigh. "...Fine then. Let's rally the Shepherds and move out," he said calmly.

* * *

Most of the Shepherds were confused as to why they were not setting off to save their Exalt, but they followed Chrom's orders without hesitation regardless.

Just as Robin had predicted, the Shepherds would have arrived at the village in two weeks' time, but bad luck, as well as a Risen horde on the outskirts of Southtown, had hit them, causing a delay in their schedule. The Shepherds were easily able to kill the entire horde without much effort, but the Risen's sudden appearance raised questions.

Miriel had apparently found a strange box that could theoretically summon Risen when opened. When confronted by Chrom and Frederick, she claimed to have not opened the box, but had given it to the army's tactician for "research". When Robin was confronted, though, he did claim to have the box, but it was intact, meaning that he did not summon the Risen.

From _that _box, however.

After Chrom and Frederick had concluded that the Risen appeared coincidentally and left Robin's tent, Robin pulled out a small black chest out from under his bed. Unlocking it, he placed the box he had shown Chrom and Frederick inside the chest with the others, locked it, and returned it back into its place.

He then dug the open box Miriel had given him out of his coat.

"Huh. It really did work," Robin said to himself.

He would have to dispose of the box soon, probably by dropping it in the ocean they'll be traveling on tomorrow. Until then, he would begin devising new ways to train using the mysterious boxes. The Risen summoned by these boxes were weak and ideal for training against. They were great "sparring partners" for having new recruits build up experience using their weapons.

Of course, the rest of the Shepherds could never discover this. If a Risen horde suddenly popped out of nowhere, they can never assume that their tactician purposely summoned them.

_They must never find out..._ Robin thought to himself.

* * *

When the Shepherds finally arrived at the village in question a day behind in their schedule, ready for a full-on battle against one hundred deadly bandits, they did not know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Contrary to the reports the villagers had sent Robin, there were not one hundred bandits harassing them. Rather, there were only about fifteen. And all had little to zero experience fighting soldiers, not helpless and defenseless villagers.

After handling the bandits with no effort whatsoever (with the help of one violet-haired farm boy), the Shepherds were getting ready to head back into the mainland.

"Robin? Did we really need to bring ALL of the Shepherds to fight fifteen measly brigands?" Chrom asked Robin as they led the way back to the boats.

"The villagers must have over-exaggerated a bit in their report, Chrom," he replied absentmindedly, secretly fiddling with a box in his coat pocket. "Besides, it's better if there's too many of us than too few."

"Yes but-"

"W-Wait, m'lord!"

Chrom and Robin turned around and saw the young farm boy sprinting towards them. After the boy had caught up and regained his breath, he started talking.

"Yer Majestyness! Please, lemme come with ya!" the farm boy begged. "I need ta learn how ta defend my village!"

"Er, Donnel, was it? I thought you wanted to remain in your village," Chrom said, a little surprised at how fast the villager could run.

"Well, I did," Donnel wiped a bit of sweat off his face, "but I realized the only way to learn ta fight is by joinin' an army. So please, yer Lordshipness, please lemme come with ya!" the farm boy repeated, now begging on his knees.

"So, you want to learn how to fight, do you?" It wasn't Chrom that answered, it was Robin.

Donnel nodded his head rapidly.

"Well," the tactician continued, "you can start learning by taking down the Risen here."

"Huh? But mister, there ain't-"

A guttural roar was heard just off in the forest near them.

"Wha-?! Risen?! Shepherds, to arms!" Chrom led the troops into the forest.

Robin smiled internally to himself.

* * *

(THREE WEEKS LATER)

Amazingly, just as Robin predicted, Emmeryn had not been executed yet, much to Chrom and Lissa's relief. It had been five weeks since Emmeryn's capture, and yet, Gangrel had not made a move to kill Yisse's Exalt.

Now, the Shepherds were back at the arena in Regna Ferox, preparing for the campaign into Plegia.

At least, that's what they should've been doing a week ago.

Robin had received another report that a village in northern Ferox was encountering bandit problems as well. With some convincing, the Shepherds made their way to the village and managed to save it, but not before hearing that a few villagers were being hunted by a Risen horde to the southeast of said village.

Though the Shepherds wiped out the entire horde, one of the villagers had perished at the hands of the Risen. But on the bright side, they received a special robe that would increase endurance. (They also received a log, for some strange reason.)

All-in-all, they spent almost the entire week doing all of this. And with no more sidequests to be done, Robin finally did not have any reason to delay the march into Plegia.

Although, the Risen horde that suddenly appeared in Arena Ferox DID cause a slight delay...

* * *

Robin had broken his promise to Chrom. They did not rescue Exalt Emmeryn; she had decided to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Now, as the Shepherds were fleeing Castle Plegia, a messenger had delivered a new report to a bitter Robin. When Robin had read the report, his bitterness had faded and replaced by one of joy.

Robin then sidled up to Chrom to ask him something. "Hey, Chrom?" the tactician asked, a small smile on his face.

"..." The lord was too distressed at the moment to answer.

"Chrom? HEY, CHROM!" Robin practically yelled to get his attention.

Chrom snapped out of his trance. "Huh? ...Oh, hey, Robin. What do you need?" Though Robin could see that Chrom had a small smile as well, he knew that this one was forced.

"Well, I just got another report that a young merchant girl is being held prisoner in a bandit's hideout, so how about we go help her? It'll only take about three weeks' travel to reach there. Then we'll head back here to this marsh to finish our business."

Chrom let out a large sigh before responding. "...Sure, friend. Let's go."

"Great! Now, before we start, though, we need to deal with the Risen here first."

"What Ris-"

Suddenly a Risen horde appeared on the sands the Shepherds have traveled on to reach Castle Plegia.

Robin smiled internally to himself.

* * *

**I thought of this from two different things that I noticed: Anna's recruitment paralogue popping up on the map after finishing Chapter 9, and fighting Risen skirmishes. Even though the paralogues are side stories that have nothing to do with the main story, I thought that it would be funny if Chrom left to go where Anna's paralogue takes place right after Emmeryn's death.  
**

**As for the Risen popping up everywhere, I kind of made Robin the type to go crazy with Reeking Boxes, just like me in my first playthrough. I thought that it would also be funny if they had to fight Risen everywhere they went, even at the worst possible times (i.e. after Chapter 9).**

**For this story, the idea sounded a lot better in my head, and it was kind of a pain trying to write it down. So, I hope that I did this story justice. Reviews are appreciated.**

**Also, this is my longest story by far. Whew! I feel accomplished.**

**Until next time!**

**-18 More**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fire Emblem.**


	2. Castle Siege

**Hey everyone!**

**Now, this was originally going to be a one-shot but I then realized the siege at Walhart's castle took place in two chapters, so hey, why not have the Shepherds go on sidequests even during the Valm arc finale?**

**For now, I'll leave this story's status as ongoing in case more ideas come up.**

**And without further ado, here's Chapter 2 of Sidequests!**

* * *

With Walhart's retreat into his castle, the combined forces of the Ylissean, Feroxi, and Chon'sin dynasts knew the the Valmese War was coming close to an end. All that was needed was the Conqueror's defeat to finally end the war.

Chrom, the forces' charismatic and just leader, had just finished his personal militia's final battle preparations and was ready to storm Walhart's castle.

"All right, Shepherds," he briefed them one more time before the infiltration. "This is the battle where we free this entire continent from Walhart's subjugation! By wounding him here, we now know that Walhart the Conqueror is all but invincible! If he falls, then all of Valm will be freed from the Conqueror's rule!" A simultaneous roar of agreement rang throughout the Shepherds. "But, remember that we are fighting for our own beloved Ylisse and for all its people. We fight to protect them!" An even loader roar of agreement came from all of the Shepherds this time. "Now, let's take down this Conqueror once and for all!"

With a final roar, the Shepherds began their charge to the castle. It seems as they could not be stopped, for their leader's words had stirred them deeply. As they approached the castle gates, they did not falter, and were so close to enter into the castle that they-

"HEY, EVERYONE! WAIT! STOP!"

The group of Shepherds broke their stride and looked towards Robin in confusion. Why would their tactician interrupt the charge to end this war?

"Yeah, sorry, everyone. Sorry," Robin apologized, "but this siege can wait. Before we do that, something important occurred to me. Shouldn't we recruit the rest of Lucina's friends first?"

"Robin, now is not the time to be considering that," Chrom said, a bit annoyed at his best friend's idea.

"No, no, Chrom! If we recruit more of our future children into the Shepherds, then we'll have more people in our army! You know, 'strength in numbers', like you said in our first battle two years ago?"

"I agree with Robin, Father," Lucina interjected. "Though we would have to halt our siege on Walhart's castle, it would be nice to see my sister and all my friends again."

Chrom was fully annoyed now. First Robin wanted to halt the siege on Walhart's castle, and now his own daughter supported him as well? He was about to tell them that he, as well as the rest of the Shepherds, did not agree with their plans, but the numerous agreements from the other Shepherds told him otherwise.

"Hell yeah! I wanna see my future kid!"

"It would be divine if I can see what an excellent job I did in raising my child."

"I believe I would be elated to gaze upon my future progeny."

"Come on, dear," Sumia nudged Chrom's arm. "I don't know about you, but _I _would want to see our other future daughter."

Chrom gave a glance at his wife before sighing. "Fine then, Robin. You get your wish." He turned towards his daughter. "Lucina, how many of you came back from the future?"

"There were twelve of us, Father," Lucina replied.

"And you were all separated going to the past?"

"That is what I believe, Father."

"...Gods, it looks like our work is cut out for us, then." Chrom then addressed his troops. "Shepherds! We march now!"

A horde of Risen appeared out of thin air, surrounding the Shepherds.

Chrom sighed again and drew Falchion. "...Right after we deal with these Risen."

No one noticed Robin smiling at his own work.

* * *

A battle-torn Walhart stormed into the throne room, clutching his wounded arm, trying to suppress the wound sustained on his bicep. A nearby War Cleric took notice of his appearance and set out to heal her emperor, but a threatening glare from the Conqueror signalled to her that he did not need her healing magic.

Walhart made his way to his throne. Leaning on it was his own personal great axe, the Wolf Berg. Grabbing it, he then sat down upon his throne. They were coming for him, he knew it. A tiny part inside him told him that he should flee, to live another day. A much larger part told him to stay, hold his ground and fight until he or his enemies fell. Walhart let that larger part inside him win. He would wait until the very end. After all, true conquerors don't flee if they're losing, right?

A bit later, after forcibly making his "tactician" part of his final line of defense, the conqueror was visited by a visibly shaken messenger with an urgent message.

"E-Emperor Walhart, there's been some sort of...development...in the Ylissean League's advances."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Walhart inquired, the frown on his face unchanging.

"It-it seems that all the troops surrounding the castle have withdrawn, milord. According to our scouts, all of their troops have withdrawn and have been accounted for, with the exception of Prince Chrom's militia, the Shepherds."

"And what do you think happened to them, messenger?"

"Erm... I...I do not know, sire." The messenger's eyes lit up as a realization came to him. "Er, milord, i-if I may be so bold to suggest an idea, y-you can use this time to flee this castle and live to lead us on another day!"

Walhart's gaze on the man darkened. "Are you ordering me to run away like a craven, worm?"

The messenger realized his mistake. "Ahh! N-no, sire! Pl-please ignore my thoughtless comment! It shall not happen again!"

Walhart held back a smirk; he found it amusing that so many people were greatly intimidated by him, but he needed to keep that intimidating look, just for right now. "Hmph. True conquerors do not flee during their greatest battle. They fight until their enemies or they themselves are lying in a pool of their own blood!" Walhart's gaze intensified onto the terrified man. "Now, get out of my sight or you too shall lie in your own blood!"

With a yelp, the messenger quickly scurried away from the Emperor.

With the messenger gone, Walhart let out a low rumbling sigh. Even he wondered where Prince Chrom and his Shepherds have gone. Was it a trap set by that ingenious Ylissean tactician, to lure the Conqueror out into believing it is safe, only to be ambushed and surrounded by the entire Ylissean League? Or did they really just give up and left for Ylisse? Walhart believed that it was the former, and though the latter was questionable, it could very well be true. Nevertheless, Walhart believed that the Ylisseans were waiting to ambush him outside his castle. If he stays inside his castle, the Ylisseans are bound to come inside, he muses. Now, his mind is set.

He would wait for their arrival, no matter how long it would take.

* * *

(THREE MONTHS LATER)

After three months of traveling around Valm and Ylisse searching for the future children, the Shepherds were finally back at Valm Castle. It took a lot of effort finding the children, but in the end, it was worth it seeing them reunite with their long-lost parents.

"Well, I'm glad that's done," Robin said. "Now, let's go in and kill Walhart, and then we can all go home. Right, Chrom? ...Chrom?"

Chrom glared dangerously at Robin.

"Chrom? Are you still angry at me for keeping my relationship with Lucina hidden from you?"

"...Yes."

The tactician scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh. It was pretty funny, trying to keep you oblivious to our relationship."

"And then Morgan, your's and Lucina's _daughter_, showed up and I then realized that you were sleeping with my daughter."

"Yeah..." Honestly, Robin could not fully remember the day that Morgan joined the Shepherds. All he could remember was _pain_. _Lots of pain_.

"But, Robin." The tactician looked directly at Chrom. "I'm glad that Lucina is with you. She needs someone to comfort her after all she's been through, and I wouldn't trust her with anyone but you." Chrom smiled at his best friend.

Robin smiled back. "Thanks, Chrom."

"Don't mention it. Now then," Chrom's smile was replaced with one of determination, "I believe we have a conqueror to defeat?"

Robin had his own look of determination. "I believe we do, Chrom."

With that, the two men led the Shepherds towards the Conqueror's throne room.

* * *

Excellus was growing even more impatient. Walhart had made him and the rest of his remaining soldiers stand in the same formation for _three months straight_. With no break. Walhart himself had not even moved an inch from his throne. Waiting three whole months for an enemy that was to arrive wasn't all that bad for the "tactician". A three months' wait had given Excellus a lot of time to question Walhart's sanity.

An emperor forcing his troops to spend three whole months waiting for an enemy that may not even arrive. Yes, Excellus now concluded that Walhart was indeed insane.

He doubted that the Ylisseans would even arrive. Hell, even some of the soldiers stationed near him made bets that the Ylisseans would never show up.

But today, it looks like the soldiers who bet that the Ylisseans wouldn't show up were going to lose their gold...

* * *

**Whew! That took a while!**

**I know that this story was originally going to be a one-shot, but the siege at Walhart's castle completely slipped my mind when writing Chapter 1 of this story.**

**I guess I made this story include a Robin/Lucina pairing (as if **_**that**_** hasn't been done before) to bring in a bit of humor into this story (i.e. Chrom finds out that Robin and Lucina have a child together, Chrom beats up Robin, etc.).**

**This was originally going to end with the Shepherds entering the throne room with Walhart addressing them in a booming voice with "They finally came!" or "I've been expecting you!" or something like that, but I couldn't really fit it in anywhere. Besides, I like the alternate way to end this chapter a bit more, with Excellus questioning Walhart's sanity.**

**For the Walhart point-of-view, I hope I got his character well. He's one of my favorite characters in the game, and I hope I did him justice.**

**Well, what do you think? Review, don't review, it's up to you.**

**Until next time!**

**-18 More**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fire Emblem.**


	3. The Dragon's Table

The Shepherds finally ended their march when they reached Ylisstol. They had just come back from a failed negotiation with the Plegian King, Validar. Earlier, they had traveled to Plegia in hopes of obtaining the final gemstone, Sable, but were tricked by the wicked king and ended up losing the gemstone and Ylisse's greatest treasure, the Fire Emblem. Now the completed Fire Emblem was in Validar's clutches and the threat of the Fell Dragon's return was drawing closer.

Once the Shepherds reached Castle Ylisstol, the group split, with the Ylissean royal family (and an overprotective Frederick) heading into the castle and the other remaining members returning to the Shepherds' own barracks.

The royal family made their way into the throne room, still reeling from the loss of their nation's treasure. For minutes, no one spoke, until Owain decided to break the silence.

"Uh... Heh, um... So, what now?" the myrmidon asked, for once not speaking in his heroic dialect.

"...We're going back for the Emblem," Chrom finally answered, slightly breaking out of his somber mood.

"Yes, we must," Lucina said, her eyes a mix of fear and determination. "We must stop the Fell Dragon from returning. We must!"

"...Then it's settled," Robin quietly said, still looking quite a bit depressed. He had not said a word since they fled Castle Plegia, when Validar - no, _Robin_ \- had stolen the Fire Emblem from Chrom. Then, the tactician's demeanor changed."We go back to Plegia and kill that _dastard_!" he growled.

Robin then turned towards Frederick. "Frederick, alert the Shepherds. We'll be heading back into Plegia by sunrise."

Frederick sharply nodded. He too wanted revenge on the king. "Of course, Robin." With that, the knight left the throne room for the Shepherds' barracks.

The rest of the room stared at the tactician in bewilderment. Robin soon noticed the awkward stares he was getting. "...Uh, why are you all staring at me? Was it because I used the word 'dastard'?" The word _was _somewhat of a curse word in Ylissean culture.

"No, that's not it, Robin," Lissa spoke. "Usually, we've never seen you so...straightforward. You usually have us travel somewhere else than where we plan to go, yeah? Why do you want to head into Plegia instead of going off on one of your 'sidequests'?"

"Well, Lissa..." Robin began in his normal tone of voice, "...It's because I've realized that _Validar_-" Robin would _never_ call Validar his father, "-is a psychotic maniac with a desire to bring destruction to our world, and finally has the right tools _to do just that_!" The tactician raised his voice. "A madman like him needs to be stopped, _NOW AND IMMEDIATELY_!" The tactician was now yelling at this point, with a fist in the air, his eyes blazing with fury.

After Robin had settled down, the room fell silent once again, save for the applause Owain, Cynthia, and Morgan were giving him. Chrom chuckled.

"Feeling better now, Robin?" the lord asked, a small smile on his face.

"A bit, Chrom," Robin admitted, clearly embarrassed by his over-dramatic dialogue. He made a mental note to leave the theatrics to Owain.

"Good. We can't have our tactician stressed out, can we? Now, get some rest. We leave at sunrise, like you said."

"But, Chrom-"

"Get some rest. Relax," Chrom repeated. "Exalt's orders," he quickly added when Robin started to protest.

Robin raised his hand up to protest again, but Lucina quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him away, with him resisting a little. "Robin, Father said to relax." Lucina was blushing a tiny bit. "So, I'll help you 'relax'."

"Lucina, what do you mean, rela- _Ohhhhh_." The tactician started blushing as well. He knew what Lucina meant by "relax". He stopped pulling away from Lucina and let himself willingly be dragged away by his fiancée.

Chrom watched all of this with a smile on his face. He felt proud of his daughter for helping his best friend through his dilemma. He glanced over at his wife, hoping that Sumia felt the same joy he was feeling. Instead, he saw her looking at the couple with a suggestive smirk on her face. Lissa had the same look on her face as well. Owain and Cynthia didn't share their parents' face, but were both flustered and blushing. Morgan was only staring at her father and mother with a look of horror on her face.

Even Frederick, who had just returned from the Shepherds' garrison, had an idea of what was going to transpire.

From their faces, it looked like they all knew that something was going to happen between the two. Chrom stood there confused as to what was happening. _What's with all of the looks?_ he wondered. _Am I missing something?_

Then a loud moan was heard.

"Ahh... Robin... Your tongue... Ahh~"

Chrom's eyes widened with horror, then anger. With a loud growl, he stormed off to find his tactician.

"Well, it took him long enough to figure it out," Lissa rolled her eyes. "I swear, he can be so dense sometimes."

"Mhm," Sumia agreed.

* * *

The next day, the Shepherds set off once again towards Plegia. The group's overall morale was significantly higher than it was in the last few days, and all of them were ready to confront Validar and reclaim their country's treasure.

Robin, now sporting a black eye and a couple of bruises for not escaping a furious Chrom's wrath unscathed the night before, was mostly in the front, leading the group with Chrom, who nonchalantly acted like noting had happened the night before. Although Robin loved the man like a brother, he had known the lord to be rather...reckless with his rage when angry. But something in his body told Robin that last night's Chrom-induced pain was nothing compared to _that day_. Everything else that happened that day was hazy except for the pain. It was a day so traumatic for Robin that he actually forget what Chrom was actually furious at Robin for doing and only remembered the heaps of physical pain wrought unto him. Though Robin could not fully recall that day, he shuddered just thinking about the aftermath.

But on the bright side, Robin _did_ get some well-deserved rest last night. Chrom had been so kind to grant him a good-night's rest by knocking his tactician out cold. What a thoughtful friend, right?

* * *

(ONE WEEK LATER)

After obtaining some information on Validar and the Fire Emblem's whereabouts, the Shepherds marched towards the Dragon's Table, determined to stop the Fell Dragon from returning. This was it. This was where they were to prevent their children's desolate future from becoming a reality in their world. They were to ensure that Grima would never rise again here. The Shepherds stopped on the Table outskirts to gear up for their final mission. After the last Shepherd had prepared their weapons and armor, Chrom led the militia towards the Table once more.

During their march towards the Dragon's Table, no one was there to stop them. But when they reached the Table's entrance, there was only one person blocking the way into the altar: Aversa, Validar's most loyal servant.

"Well, well, if it isn't Prince Chrom and his sheep!" Aversa sarcastically greeted Chrom and the Shepherds with open arms.

"Aversa, we are here to stop Validar from resurrecting Grima!" Chrom drew Falchion and pointed it at her. "Now, get out of our way!"

"Or what?" Aversa smirked. "You'll kill me? Hah! Even if I die, you and the rest of this world will soon die as well! No one can stop Lord Grima's resurrection. Nothing can! And once he awakes, he'll feast on your all of your souls first! It is your destiny, after all! Ah ha ha ha!" the witch cackled.

"To hell with destiny. I'll write a new ending," Chrom said, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh really?" Aversa scoffed at Chrom's statement. "You can't change fate, princeling. Everyone's fate is already set in stone. Even your late sister's death. You've merely prevented fate's intended cause of death for her, yes, but she ended up buried six feet under nonetheless." The seductress started walking back into the altar, but stopped and turned her to look at the blue-haired lord. "But... If you really do want to come in and face Master Validar, you can face against our 'special guests' first." She then turned her head back forward and resumed walking.

As Aversa disappeared into the depths of the altar, twelve Risen emerged from inside the Table. Each Risen were different from each other, each sporting different styles of weaponry and armor. Though they looked just like ordinary Risen, the kinds the Shepherds always trained against, something about them seemed off. They didn't act like normal Risen, who would blindly charge once they saw a human; no, these Risen looked like they were well-trained, as shown by the way they stomped out of the Table as one. The weapons they held in their rotted gauntlets were no ordinary weapons, either. They were weapons spoken of in legends, weapons that were said to be long lost.

These "special guests" were the Deadlords, legendary heroes called back from the dead to enter into battle once more.

And they were the only things standing between the Shepherds and their objective.

"Alright, Robin," Chrom said, readying Falchion once again, "what's the plan?"

No response came from his tactician.

"...Er, Robin?" The lord turned to look for where his tactician had gone to. He found that Robin was still right by his side, but he noticed that the silver-haired man had a worried look on his face.

"Robin? Is something wrong?" Chrom asked, even though he already knew what his best friend was planning on doing.

"...Yeah," Robin finally said, letting out a low whistle. He turned to address the rest of the Shepherds. Most of them also knew what the tactician was planning on doing, for they were used to it. "Shepherds!" Robin raised his voice so that all the Shepherds could hear him. "We move out thataway!" He pointed in a direction away from the Table.

Most of the Shepherds easily complied with his orders; this was routine for them, after all. Others, like the children from the future, were a bit reluctant to pull out of their most important mission, but nonetheless joined the rest of the army to train once more.

If the Deadlords still retained any emotions they have had from when they were human, they probably would have been confused as to why the Ylissean militia was marching away from them and not towards their ranks. But what the Deadlords did instead was warily observe the retreating militia as they vanished over the horizon.

* * *

A couple hours later, Aversa was sent out of the Dragon's Table to check on the battle between the Ylisseans and the Deadlords. Validar was growing a bit impatient as to why the Shepherds have not stormed into the altar yet, so he had commanded Aversa to go back outside and see how much progress was made.

As the seductress strolled out of the altar, she too wondered why the Shepherds were taking so long. She only thought of three possible outcomes: one, the Shepherds had been bested by the Deadlords; two, the other way around; and three, the Shepherds just gave up and went back to Ylisse. The first two outcomes were probable, but she doubted the last one, even though she had known the Ylisseans to stray from their main objective, as evidenced by what they had done after the late Exalt's death and during the siege at Walhart's castle. She reasoned that this time, the Shepherds would not shirk from their main plan this time.

But when she walked outside the Table, she was greeted by the sight of the stalwart and immobile Deadlords gazing towards the fading sun with no sign of the Shepherds or a battle anywhere.

* * *

"WHAT?!" Validar roared.

"It is true, milord," Aversa said, a little bit shaken from Validar's outburst. "There is no sign of Prince Chrom or Robin at all."

"Then _where_ did they go?!" Validar growled.

"We...we don't know, Master. Our spies could not track them. Those idiots..." Aversa grumbled under her breath.

Scowling, Validar walked away from his servant and the altar. Because his son and that cursed blood of Naga were nowhere near the Dragon's Table, he could not go through with his scheme. He was supposed to have his son embrace Grima's power and kill the prince, damn it!

Now his plan, as well as destiny, was delayed, at least for now. But the sorcerer knew that all he needed to do was wait for the inevitable arrival of his son and the prince so his plan could follow through.

After all, destiny always favors its original course, right?

* * *

A hidden figure watched Validar, and soon after, Aversa, move away from the altar through his one good eye. He had just listened to the conversation they just had from behind the altar.

"Damn it, boy, where the hell are you?" Basilio grimaced. Almost everything was in place: the fake gemstones, himself; the only thing missing from the flawless plan were the Shepherds themselves. The West-Khan mentally slapped himself for forgetting to remember that the Shepherds usually went on a "sidequest", as Robin had called it. He really didn't mind them going on the extra adventures (hell, Basilio had even encouraged it), but he cursed the Shepherds for going on one at such a crucial time.

Basilio knew that the Shepherds took their time on their sidequests, and the sidequest they just embarked on was no different. It could be weeks that the Shepherds would finally return to complete their objective.

That meant Basilio had to wait a month or so before making his big reveal.

Everyone but Robin thought he was dead. It was a well-known fact that the West-Khan loved surprising everyone, and his "return" from the dead was to be his greatest surprise ever. He didn't want to walk out from his hiding place and ruin the surprise early. He also did not want to really end up dead, either.

So Basilio stayed in his hiding place behind the altar. All he could do now was imagine what the Shepherds were up to now.

* * *

(FOUR WEEKS LATER)

"...Robin," Chrom gritted his teeth, trying not to lose his anger at his tactician, "why the hell are we here?"

"Relax, Chrom," Robin lazily stretched his arms upward and yawned. "Enjoy this place while you can. Ylisse or any other country's beaches are nothing compared to this."

The two were currently standing on the shore of a fabulous Outrealm beach resort called the "Hotrealm." The rest of the Shepherds were nearby, either lying on the soft sand of the beach or enjoying the luxuries the realm had to offer. All of them seemed to be having the time of their lives. Well, everyone except for Chrom and Frederick. While the latter was too busy clearing the beach of potential hazards (rocks, seagulls, the occasional crab), the former seemed to be the only one who remembered their main objective, which was the reason for his annoyance at being in the Hotrealm.

_If it wasn't for that damned merchant, then we wouldn't be here in this gods-forsaken place,_ Chrom cursed in his mind.

* * *

_(FLASHBACK - THREE WEEKS EARLIER)_

_After Chrom dispatched the last Risen terrorizing Southtown, he sighed and sheathed Falchion. The town was fortunate enough to not have any casualties, as not a single villager was outside of their home. He made his way towards Robin, who was chatting with a female merchant the Shepherds had managed to protect. Robin spotted his friend approaching towards him._

_"Hey, Chrom!" Robin excitedly waved to him. "Big news! This merchant here-"_

_"I have a name you know," the merchant interrupted, smiling. "It's Anna." _

_"Oh, sorry. Robin started again. "_Anna_ here told me that she knows of a really great training ground in someplace called the Outrealms!"  
_

_"Outrealms? What are those?" Chrom questioned._

_"The Outrealms are essentially made up of different worlds accessed through portals," __the merchant piped up again, the same cheerful smile on her face. __ "Some of the worlds include training grounds!"  
_

_"Chrom, we _have_ to go there!" Robin said, a pleading look in his eyes._

_"No, Robin, we have to go back to Plegia," Chrom said sternly. "Besides, didn't you say that you wanted to face Validar two weeks ago?"_

_"Well, yeah, of course, but a little more training couldn't hurt, right? We have to be as ready as possible, Chrom. Besides, I have a feeling that Validar is actually waiting for us to arrive. He probably wants us there to witness Grima's resurrection firsthand." The tactician grabbed both of Chrom's shoulders and stared into his eyes. "So, please, Chrom? Can we go?"  
_

_The lord brushed off the hands on his shoulders and sighed. Gods, was Robin persistent. "Alright then, Robin," he forced a smile._

_"YES!" The tactician raised a fist in the air. He turned back to the merchant, who was watching them the entire time. "Anna, where are the Outrealms located?"_

_"Well... The Outrealm Gate is south of here..." the merchant said, putting a finger on her chin, "but they do charge for admission." A devious smirk grew on her face. "Tell you what. My sister runs the Gate. If you pay me right here and now, you can get in without paying her the full price. Think of the discount as a...reward for saving me."_

_"So, then how much do we pay you?" Chrom inquired._

_"Ten thousand gold," the merchant said without missing a beat._

_Chrom visibly cringed at the price. The merchant noticed this._

_"Hey, if you pay over there, you'll be paying her twice as much, handsome."_

_"...Gods, Sumia is going to kill me..." Chrom muttered. He turned away from the merchant. "Frederick!" he called._

_"Yes, milord?" Frederick suddenly appeared behind Robin and the merchant, scaring them. Chrom turned back around.  
_

_"Ah, Frederick. Can you please access our treasury and give this merchant a Large Bullion?"_

_Frederick suddenly produced a Large Bullion and handed it to the merchant. She accepted it with glee._

_"Frederick? Was that yours?" Robin asked the Great Knight._

_"No, that was from our treasury," Frederick simply replied. "'Tis a knight's duty to always be prepared." The knight bowed to Chrom. "Now I must be going, milord. Lady Lissa's tent perimeter needs to be cleared of rocks." The knight stomped away._

_"...Creepy," the merchant said. Then she remembered the gold in her hands. "R-Right! I'll let my sister at the Gate know to let you through. Pleasure doing business with you!" She winked and left the two remaining men, a devious grin reappearing on her face._

_Chrom and Robin were still baffled and a little scared at the knight's devotion to the former and his sister. They knew they couldn't change the knight's fanatical habits no matter how hard they tried._

_But what they didn't know is that the merchant had just charged them double the admission price to the Outrealm Gate._

_(END FLASHBACK)_

* * *

_Damn merchant,_ Chrom grimaced. When Sumia had found out about how much gold was lost when they reached the Gate, she had "slapped" (read: punched) him across the face _hard_, and Chrom had found himself sleeping outside their shared tent for the first two weeks they spent in the Outrealms. He'd rather face a veggie-stealing Risen horde, the spirits of past legendary heroes, and the Grima they saw in one Outrealm all at once by himself than go experience Sumia's anger once again.

But he'd rather face his world's Grima before all of that, first.

Which was why he was anxious to get out of the Hotrealm.

"_Robin_," Chrom said sternly. The man in question turned towards him. "We're leaving. _NOW_."

"Aww, don't be like that, Chrom," the silver-haired man said, waving off his commander's orders without even acknowledging him. "If you really want to fight someone here and now, I think there are a couple of brigands over there secretly gawking at your wife in her swimsuit."

"WHAT?!" Chrom hurried over to where Sumia was, Falchion in hand.

"Ha ha, just a joke, Chrom. ...Chrom?" Robin looked over to where the lord had gone off to, and sure enough, he was fighting four brigands who were all caught spying on the Exalt's wife. In fact, the whole beach was infested with brigands now, and the Shepherds were fighting all of them.

"Well, I guess it wasn't a joke, then..." the tactician muttered before heading off to join his comrades, sword and tome in hand.

* * *

**...My longest chapter ever.**

**These chapter lengths have all been pretty inconsistent. It's probably because I had a lot to write about.**

**So this chapter was originally inspired from the Deadlords. I took one good look at their stats and immediately said, "Nope," and started training in more Risen skirmishes. Then I added the Validar and Basilio parts into the story. And after that I wanted to add the Summer Scramble DLC somewhere, as well as some of the other ones, in this story. God, this took a long time to write, balancing school and writing this story, which I had to rewrite because I lost most of it. I honestly think this version is better.  
**

**I may or may not have a plan to include the Hot-Spring and/or Harvest Scramble in the next chapter.  
**

**I'll probably start naming these chapters from now on.**

**Leave a review, if you want, about how this one was.**

**Until next time!**

**-18 More**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fire Emblem.**


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